Ban on plastic bags weighed in AmCan, Napa, Solano

Luis Rivas of Vallejo lifts some purchases out of his shopping cart into his car at the American Canyon Safeway on Thursday. Rivas, when informed of early discussions in Napa County to eliminate plastic shopping bags, stated he'd have no problem using paper bags, reusable bags or none at all. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)

AMERICAN CANYON -- This city and the rest of Napa County, is considering joining the growing number of California municipalities banning the use of plastic carry-out bags.

It's a concept that's been adopted by some 90 municipalities statewide and is also on the radar of Solano County and Vallejo officials.

By the March 4 City Council meeting, American Canyon Community Development Director Brent Cooper said he will present information on what a collection of Napa County cities is considering.

"We have all agreed a coordinated ordinance would be beneficial, but no details have been worked out yet," Cooper said. The group plans to reconvene this month, he said.

Though convenient, plastic carryout bags present a danger to the environment and to wildlife, experts say. And, being a petroleum-based product, they are practically indestructible.

Nearby Solano County also is considering such steps.

"Over 1 million plastic bags get into the bay annually," Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan said. "They choke animals, and it takes forever for them to deteriorate."

They can sometimes be recycled, and most large grocery stores offer that option, Valcore Recycling board president Jane Bogner said.

"They collect them in some grocery stores and they're mixed with sawdust to make plastic lumber," she said.

The movement to reduce or eliminate these bags started in Ireland in the 1990s, Bogner said.

"They got tired of all the plastic bags and started charging 25 cents per bag and people started bringing their own," she said.

Many cities that have adopted plastic bag bans charge between 10 cents and 20 cents per paper bag for those who don't have their own reusable ones, she said.

Solano County's City County Coordinating Committee, including all city mayors and county supervisors plans to meet next month to discuss this issue, Hannigan said.

"By 2020, the Sanitation and Flood Control District must eliminate garbage in the storm drains and plastic bags are a major contributor to that," she said. "There are bills statewide addressing this issue in which money would be made available to retrain employees at plastic bag manufacturing facilities. But, all statewide efforts have failed so far, so I think there's some merit to going forward locally."

The only Solano County city to take up the matter so far has been Vallejo, she said.

"I'd like to see our county do like Napa's doing, like San Mateo did, and have consistency," Hannigan said.

Napa city senior planner Julie Lucido said officials will launch outreach to local businesses and residents in the next month to provide information and collect comments, "so, we can tailor an ordinance that will work to meet the community's needs." And, while each city will adopt its own ordinance, there will hopefully be a general consensus.

"The ordinance would disallow retailers to supply plastic bags at the cash register -- but it wouldn't include the bags used for bulk, meat or produce," Lucindo said. "And there would be a nominal charge for paper bags, to encourage the use of reusable bags."

The trend toward banning the plastic carryout bag, may be irreversible.

"It's happening all over California," Lucindo said. "It's not a new thing, anymore and people may be getting used to the idea."

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at Rachelvth.